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"Golden Turtles (Part 3)" (金龟袋 (其三)) is the nineteenth chapter of the manhua Assassin's Creed: Dynasty written by Xu Xianzhe.

Plot summary[]

It is a complete rout. A lone soldier of the Tang flees in panic across a gulley of fallen comrades. Having lagged behind the others sprinting ahead, he tears off his armor to pick up his pace, neverminding the hail of arrows falling over their heads. He takes a glance back at the Yeluohe cavalry storming behind them, unleashing the unrelenting flurry of death. Though the Tang troops number in the thousands, it is every man for himself. If they can only reach the safety of Tong Pass, they may just survive to fight another day.

Watching the disaster unfold from above is the commander Gao Xianzhi, now the Great General of the Right of Jinwu. He issues the order for the archers and crossbowmen to ready their weapons, but his lieutenant, the jiedushi of Anxi Feng Changqing, protests that their men who have not yet reached the gate would fall within their field of fire. With grim resolve, Xianzhi reminds him of the reality that Tong Pass is the last line of defense for Chang'an and that should it fall, those troops who have managed to withdraw through the gate would be massacred as well—to say nothing of all the civilians between here and the capital.

Tears stream down Changqing's face as he furiously wills himself to give the order. As all the ranged units nock their projectiles, a signaller atop the battlements begin the countdown at "Five hundred steps!" All the while, frantic soldiers continue to stream through the fortress gate. By "Four hundred steps!", the enemy cavalry are now within clear view, surging forward with savage fervour. At "Two hundred steps!", the gates slam shut, leaving all those troops who have yet to pass through trapped between the wall and mortal doom behind. Their frenzied banging against the gates, screaming for them to be reopened, fall on deaf ears.

At "a hundred steps!", the Yeluohe cavalry tramples into the deep, dry moat before the gate, and Xianzhi yells the order to loose arrows, echoed by Changqing right after. Ally and enemy soldiers alike perish en masse within the kill zone as the garrison release volley after volley of bolts and arrows. The carnage does not cease until a second wave of Yeluohe is stopped by its commander just before the moat. A tense respite follows, with Xianzhi and this enemy general staring wordlessly at one another across the ditch overfilling with corpses.

Miraculously, the soldier who had thrown away his armour before has survived the indiscriminate slaughter. Fatigued and shell-shocked, he nonetheless clambers slowly to his feet before the eyes of everyone, only several meters away from the Yeluohe commander. "Crazy fool, don't get up...", Xianzhi mutters under his breath, but whether out of idiocy, panic, or courageous resolve, the survivor refuses to play dead. He trudges alone up the mounds of bodies towards the fort, screaming once more "Open the gate! Open the gate!"

References[]

Comics
Les Deux Royaumes
Assassin's Creed: 123456
Conspiracies: 12
Bloodstone: 12
Collected issues
The Ankh of IsisThe Hawk
Conspiracies
Bloodstone
Ubiworkshop
The Fall: 123
The Chain
Brahman
Collected issues
The FallSubject Four
Manga/Manhua
Awakening: 123456789101112
Blade of Shao Jun: 123456789101112
131415161718
Dynasty: 01234567Special 1891011
1213141516Special 2171819Break2021
222324Special 325Historical Declassification Office
26272829303132Special 4Record of Major Events in Tianbao Year 14333435363738
Blood Brothers: 12345
Collected issues
Awakening Vol. 1Vol. 2 (Complete Collection)
Blade of Shao Jun Vol. 1Vol. 2Vol. 3Vol. 4
Dynasty Vol. 1Vol. 2Vol. 3Vol. 4Vol. 5Vol. 6
Blood Brothers
Titan Comics
Assassins: 1234567891011121314
Templars: 123456789
FCBD 2016
Locus: 1234
Uprising: 123456789101112
Reflections: 1234
Origins: 1234
Collected issues
The Fall & The Chain
Assassins Vol. 1Vol. 2Vol. 3
Templars Vol. 1Vol. 2
Locus
Uprising Vol. 1Vol. 2Vol. 3
Reflections
Origins
Dark Horse Comics
Song of Glory: 123
Forgotten Myths: 123
Collected issues
Song of Glory
Forgotten Myths
Glénat Editions
Valhalla webcomic
Valhalla – The Hidden Codex
Redice Studio
Forgotten Temple: 1234567891011
12131415161718192021222324
25262728293031323334353637
38394041424344454647
Others
Assassin's Creed (comic)
Assassin's Creed (webcomic)
Visionaries: 12
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